A Matter of Age
by Kuchiki Jeanne
Summary: "In a relationship where the girl is older than the guy," Penelo wonders to the table at large, "by how many years apart can they be for the match to be acceptable?"


_My first foray back in the fan-fiction world. Just a little short to help me go to sleep._

_No particular setting in mind, really - you can decide whether this takes place in Ivalice or in this side of hyperspace._

_The author does not own the Final Fantasy Franchise._

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><p>"In a relationship where the girl is older than the guy," Penelo wonders to the table at large, "by how many years apart can they be for the match to be acceptable?"<p>

All eyes turn to her, the group's idle chatter ceasing as they - or at least some of them - ponder the answer to her question. Vaan places a hand under his chin in thought as he softly drums his fingers on the table.

"... One or two years, perhaps," Ashe ventures, slowly placing the restaurant's numbered card down. "Of course, there have been couples who are further apart on the age line, but not a lot I've heard of, at least."

"I suppose one's age would not matter much in a mutual partnership, would it?" questions Balthier. "True love is supposed to endure 'against all odds' - or so the saccharine declarations of undying adoration go. Ha, the things people say nowadays..."

To this, Fran raises an eyebrow. "Sarcasm surprisingly suits you."

"I prefer 'cynicism', if you please." Balthier stretches his arms upward. "Someone has to rein in those written works before they take over the vernacular of today's generation."

"It wouldn't matter how old they are if they do not look that at all different outwardly," Basch offers. "A seemingly-older male, or a more youthful female - the people would know no better. That is, as long as they keep quiet about it."

Penelo considers this for a moment, her narrowed eyes downcast as she ponders, before finally conceding. "I... suppose so." A faint smile on her lips as she lets out a weak laugh. "It was a silly question, wasn't it?"

"Hey, it's okay." Vaan reaches over and places a hand over Penelo's. "It's fun to talk about random stuff once in a while. Besides," he glances at Balthier and Fran, a smirk forming on his face as he does, "they seem to be cool about it."

"Believe what you will," the man in question deadpans. "I am tired of explaining myself." Looking away, he runs a hand along his hair, in an attempt to hold himself back from saying any more. Fran tries to not laugh.

"You didn't have to say that," Ashe sighs exasperatedly, a pointed glare directed towards the sandy-blond youth _(which she also is, but suffice to say that right now, it currently isn't her. Stupid train of thought)._

"I was just stating a fact," Vaan counters nonchalantly. "They weren't uncomfortable about it when Pen first raised the topic."

"Until you said your little piece, that is." Ashe all but throws her arms up into the air. "I really can't believe you."

"I have to say, Vaan is the first to annoy Balthier so." Fran comments, resting laced fingers under her chin in amusement. "I have never known anyone else who has managed to do the same."

"Damn straight," Balthier interjects, not even bothering to face them. Vaan now opens his mouth in retaliation.

The rest of the group watches the exchange of words that ensues. Penelo eventually tunes her surroundings out as her thoughts drift back to that one conversation with a younger friend from the night before - the one that bothered her so, and led her to ask her friends' opinion on the matter.

Last night, the young kid said he liked her.

_(No, just "kid" was not enough, she told herself. "Young" for emphasis, not for redundancy. And yes, he is a friend - reiterated for emphasis. She dared not even think his name.)_

Okay, so technically, he wasn't much of a kid anymore - though not quite filled out yet, like the man his much older brother was before him. She wasn't even going to get started on his other virtues and the like, lest she start extolling them - then she would never stop. That was not the point.

The point was, she'd known him as a _child_.

Maybe it was his raging teenage hormones that caused him to act that way. Maybe it was hers, still unstable even after her teenage years _(oh, the shame)_, causing her to put inappropriate subtexts to his words. It was so much easier to take whatever he said at face value when he was still twelve and leave it at that. Now? She's thinking so much more into it, and is extremely confused.

Penelo is shaken from her reverie as someone places a hand over her shoulder.

"Hey, Pen," Vaan starts, his whisper barely audible over the din of the bustling restaurant and Balthier's mumbling. "I kinda figured what this whole trouble is about. It's about L-"

"You do not want to finish that sentence," she snaps at him coldly. Luckily, this goes unnoticed by most of the group, save for Ashe, who was immediately distracted when the waiter arrives with their food and asks for the numbered card back.

Why she even told Vaan about this, she could only wonder.


End file.
